Philly's livestream ‘Portal' already on the move – but not far

The "Portal" to another part of the world that connects the City of Brotherly Love with several other cities around the world is already on the move after less than three weeks in LOVE Park.

However, this is no big move around the world, the large circular screen isn't even going around the block.

"To help accommodate the opening of the Christmas Village , the Portal will be moving to a new spot in LOVE Park, just a short distance away from where it is now," Portals.org 's Joseph Callahan wrote to NBC10 on Nov. 7, 2024. "We hope that the increase of people in the park will help bring in a new wave of visitors looking to experience the Portal and connect with others across the globe."

The move was set to happen at some point on Thursday.

Officials with Portals.org , the 2026 Philadelphia committee and other civic leaders gathered on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, to cut the ribbon on the large circular livestreaming device.

"Hello Dublin," Michael Newmuis, the 2026 director for the City of Philadelphia, said at the ribbon cutting, which also featured a look into the action in Vilnius, Lithuania; and Lublin, Poland. The connection is set to rotate every 3-1/2 minutes, organizers said.

Back in October, Callahan said "soon we will be connected to Brazil, Ethiopia and other many parts of the world."

The Portal is hyping up Philly ahead of the yearlong Semiquincentennial in 2026 .

This Portal was previously hosted at the Flatiron Plaza in New York City.

"The love, the peace and the joy of recognizing we are all one and we are all the same," Callahan said once the device went live in Philly.

There have, however, been some bumps since the first Portal went live.

In 2021, the first Portals—created by Lithuanian artist and entrepreneur Benediktas Gylys—opened, connecting Vilnius to Lublin.

Then, in 2024, a live stream portal linking NYC and Dublin opened. The art installation garnered a lot of attention, but had to be temporarily shut down due to people's "inappropriate behavior."

Later, the NYC-Dublin Portals were opened again with new ways to prevent people from stepping on the portals, holding phones up to the cameras, flashing body parts, and doing drugs on camera.